Officials penalizing teams for too many men on the ice with great frequency

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Officials appear to be keeping a closer eye on the number of players on the ice this postseason.

Some bad line changes have resulted in more penalties for too many men on the ice than usual. The Detroit Red Wings were caught with too many men twice in the first four games against San Jose in the Western Conference semifinals.

The Sharks were one of three teams not to get called for too many men in the playoffs heading into Game 5 on Saturday night at HP Pavilion.

“It might go back to the coaches so worried about matching and moving guys around that you might be a little slow yelling out names, the players might be a little slow reacting,” Sharks coach Todd McLellan said.

“In large part, maybe we (coaches) are responsible for some of that. But the players also have to be attentive. With the four (officials) on the ice, they’re pretty sharp right now and they’re catching it.”

Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said he’s not sure if officials are watching it more closely, but he did note that there have been more penalties called and more goals scored in the playoffs this season.

“The way I look at it, if they score on a too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty, the coach always feels terrible,” Babcock said. “Sometimes, if you’re doing a matchup, like I’ve done at times, where you have guys going against someone, that’s your problem.”